


Important Things Are the Ones That Slipped Our Mind

by Grassilk



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Family, Friendship, Future Fic, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2020-10-05 15:10:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20490914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grassilk/pseuds/Grassilk
Summary: Shinpachi saw him in the café. Kagura was hit by his scooter when he was about to buy Jump.And Gintoki was sure that sometimes memories of the past are the most tricky things that ever existed in his life.





	1. Shinpachi

“Order for table 8!!!”

Without a pause, he strode between tables; bringing out some smoothies oh a wooden tray.

As usual, this place that looked too dull to be called young people's café but too modern to be called old people's restaurant, crowded with visitors. From foreign tourists who were busy chatting over the menu, young couples dating, students waiting for their friends, hungry-to-death workers, to a grandmother who was waiting for the police to find her dog that she herself forgot what it looked like.

But actually, none of that mattered. What’s important for him is how to maintain his part-time job after repeatedly almost fired as a cashier. And it was just because he was confused by the use of various credit cards and e-money as it is today. The restaurant’s owner was kind enough to provide him with alternatives as a waiter and part-time food-delivery after he pressed the wrong button on the payment machine a few months ago.

And yeah, he thought everyone will push the wrong button too if they were threatened with a knife by men who were coward enough not to reveal their face at 2:00 in the morning, with demands to hand over all the milk the restaurant has (Just who on this earth ate at such restaurant in the middle of the night??? And what kind of robber held a cashier just to ask for milk stock???).

Maybe he just wasn't clear enough in explaining his reasons to his boss.

Shinpachi sighed while he hurriedly brought the dishes back to the kitchen

Orders were shouted here and there, and it wasn’t clear who was shouting and for whom it was being directed. As long as there were foods and drinks served at the table, no one care. No one knew who ordered, and both foods and drinks piled up without any table number written to indicate which-for-which.

"SHINPACHI, ORDER FOR TABLE 10!!!"

Shinpachi immediately took a large chocolate parfait with number 10 written on a paper beside it and rushed out of the kitchen. He would take any chances given to save his eardrums from these indistinct cries.

Even the voice of his sister, Shimura Tae, when she was on her angry mode; or the annoying laughter and loud voice of their brother figure, Obi Hajime, were better than these horrible sounds that could drive the sanest person mad.

"Table 10 ..."

Shinpachi walked between rows of wooden tables and through small aisles separating parts of the room, looking for the specific table. His steps stopped when his eyes landed on a man sitting alone in the corner of the room.

Actually, he had reasons why he stopped for a moment there. First, that man has white curly hair (wait. It’s silver, not white). And second, he had red eyes. He might as well summed it to a case of albinism, which is rare in Japan. The rest of his overall appearance was just like normal people in general. Donned in a black red-striped shirt with a white blue-clouds patterned jacket. A black backpack laid beside him, along with what he guessed was a wooden sword (bokuto?) neatly wrapped in white cloth. In a glance, ignoring the colour of both his hair and his eyes, he was just like a normal college student.

His dark-red eyes (contact lenses. It’s impossible for normal eyes to be that red, or to hang around outside with eyes like that without a dark glasses) were busy staring at a window that facing directly to the main street. The book he was reading lay open in front of him.

But at the moment, that didn't seem to be what caught Shinpachi's attention.

That man's posture, his gaze, how his right hand lazily raised to pick his nose... He felt a strange emptiness and a sense of longing just by seeing him.

Like he forgot about something (to bring something) important, and just realized what it was when he already arrived at his destination during a trip (another older brother beside Hajime-nii, which he was sure he didn't have).

"SHINPACHI! TABLE 10!!!"

He flinched, and with a loud 'yes!' he quickly went to said table. He didn’t feel surprised to find out that the table itself was the one occupied by that man.

"Umm ... Big Silver Chocolate Parfait for table 10?"

That man jerked from his reverie and turned his head. His red, burgundy eyes moved away from the window and stared at him (Oh Kami, his eyes were truly natural red). They stared at each other and Shinpachi saw his expression change. His eyes widened and his mouth slowly gaped, as if he saw yuki-onna standing before him, in broad daylight like this in a bustling restaurant, while carrying a 7 flavoured parfait.

"Y, you ..." He stammered.

Something moved in his memory. Just a glance, but the sense of longing increased to (tenfolds) the point that he felt his heart ache. And he didn’t even know that man.

... Or maybe he knew him?

"S, sorry, Sir? This is your order"

That man immediately closed his mouth and –as if he had realized something– quickly turned to his order.

"Oh, yes. That’s my order. Big Silver Chocolate Parfait"

Shinpachi placed his parfait on the table. The glass glinted under the afternoon light shined through the window. That man didn't eat the parfait and instead continued to stare at him and his every move.

“May I get you anything else, Sir?” Shinpachi awkwardly asked him. That man waved his hand.

“Ah, no, thanks. I’ll just order the other later after I’m finished with this”

"If you want to order something, just call the closest waiter. Enjoy your parfait" said Shinpachi, bowed and quickly returned to the kitchen. He still continued to feel that man’s gaze behind his back. Shaking his head to get rid of those feelings, he continued his work.

xxx

Hours had passed when he returned to deliver another order for the umpteenth time. He saw that man was still there, busy with his phone. Several notes have been scattered on his table. His hand scribbling down here and there and sometimes, while typing on his phone, he scooped up his third parfait. Shinpachi himself was waiting for the fourth glass of that man's order at the delivery table.

Whatever, maybe he was trying to be diagnosed with diabetes (although it was very obvious that he was waiting for someone).

Shinpachi knew that man still occasionally glanced at him, and to be honest it was really disturbing. Maybe after his shift ended later, and that man was still there, he would approach him to simply ask if there was something he wanted to talk about (or rather to ease the curiosity that hanging at his back).

He turned to take the order. Another Big Silver Chocolate Parfait. He knew people like this was one of the reason there were bonuses on his salary, but he thought he really need to worry about that man’s health remembering how much sugar that man had consumed in the past few hours. With that in mind, he brought that parfait and took his step toward that occupied table number 10.

Everything went smoothly until two grown-up men got up and started a fight. A few rows in front of said table, rendering him unable to deliver the order without actually stopping or interfering the fight. It wasn’t clear what they were shouting, but seeing a young woman who timidly tried to stop the bickering between them, he could guess that it was a romantic problem.

Low whispers began to spread from each corner of the room. The closest employees tried to stop both of them but to no avail. Not long after that, the first man punched the second man. Hard. Shinpachi could even hear the cracking sound when that fist landed on the head of the second man. The second man fell to the floor, unmoving.

Things went south after that. Both customer and employees were scared. Some customers even hurriedly paid their order and went to the entrance. The third man (He guessed that he was the second man’s friend) –who had been silent just a few tables behind them– stood up and hit the first man. The fight continued to be a fistfight while the woman they’re fighting for fearfully stood in the corner, calling someone from her phone.

Without thinking, Shinpachi approached and tried to separate them.

"Sorry, Sir. Please don’t fight here!!!"

The third person paused for a moment, but the first person pulled Shinpachi's hair and loudly snapped.

"It’s not your damn business!!!"

And yes, if anyone had the time to ask him, he will add this day to one of his worst day at work.

He could only hope that Ane-ue will not kill him when he arrived at home later with bruises on his cheeks.

His glasses fell and got wet with the spilt parfait (and lucky him, the glasses were not broken unlike the glass of the parfait itself). Wincing, he stared at the first man who clenched his fist and was about to punch him. He closed his eyes, waiting in fear for the punch to land on his head.

But the feeling of pain never came. A few seconds later the hand that pulled his hair gone and there was a frightened yell among the visitors. Warily, he opened his eyes.

"Gya, gya, gya, gya. Jeez, shut up. Is it mating season already?”

Shinpachi stared in disbelief. That strange white-haired man stood in front of him, and he was easily incapacitating the first man with a yonkyo.

"Look at this" That man picked a big piece of the broken glass with his unoccupied hand. The cracked glass dripped melted chocolate and its last vanilla ice cream to the floor.

"Because of you guys, who are so kindly having a fight here, my precious Big Silver Chocolate Parfait …"

His red eyes flashed sharply and his expression turned angry.

"IT FREAKIN' FELL!!!"

He quickly slammed the first man flat on the floor with a skilled seoi-nage. The whole café fell silent in an instant. It was harshly done, but Shinpachi noticed that he was avoiding the broken pieces on the floor. Or maybe trying to. After returning to his feet, that man stared intently at the third man.

"My supervisor told me this afternoon that my new thesis will be tested strictly tomorrow. He really likes to make his student’s high blood pressure shooting through the roof, and he didn't even come to class on a good day just to piss off everyone. Because of that, my sugary time is a bit sporadic lately”

He quickly caught the third man before he could even glance at the exit.

"I CAN ONLY EAT THESE PARFAITS ONCE THIS MONTH, AND IT'S EXACTLY TODAY Y'KNOW???!!!"

He quickly slammed the third man with the same technique. Those men were now lying on the floor, defeated.

No one dared to move as seconds passed by. He took a glance at Shinpachi and the flash of anger in his eyes disappeared in an instant. With lazy steps, while picking his nose, he walked back to his table. After gathering his scattered notes and tossed it to his backpack, he took a leave in a swift motion.

Without so much a glance at his surroundings, he walked toward the cashier. After paying for his order, he stared at Shinpachi while handing him his glasses. It was already cleaned and neatly folded.

"Tell the cook, it tasted good",

And he promptly walked to the entrance.

"W, WAIT !!!" Shinpachi shouted. Just before that white-haired man took a step outside, several policemen greeted him at the door.

"Uh, oh," he said, grimacing.

xxx

"So how is your part-time job today, Shin-chan? "

"I, it was good, Ane-ue"

"It must be a really good one, indeed. Then how did you get into the police station, hmm? I believe one of the reasons that police station exists is to uphold the law for people like us"

"I, I was involved in a fight between customers”

Otae touched her cheek with one hand and sighed.

"Is that true? You know, Chichi-ue was very worried when he got a call from the police. He even intended to send the students home from the dojo early. Glad that I succeed to convince him that I will take care of it and I will take you home as soon as possible”

Otae turned towards that white-haired man.

"And forgive me if it sounds disrespectful, but did you make my little brother involved in this mess?" She asked that white-haired man with her sweetest smile.

"H, hey! He himself pretended to be the straight-man and intervene. I only defended my parfait!”

"Is that true, Shin-chan? "

"I, I’m not pretended to be anything! It was just the right thing to do! And yes, he was the one who helped me Ane-ue…"

Without a pause, Otae punched him. Hard.

"Next time, think before you act. Especially when you are secretly doing a part-time job around a place like this. It is our duty to mediate those who fight, or stop it before it got worse, but that doesn’t mean you can make others involved in it. Now, look"

Otae cracked her fist again. A sweet smile plastered with a sense of dark aura swirling around her.

"I've been hiding the fact that you have a part-time job. Now I have to take care of you at the police station and wait for Chichi-ue’s scolding at home. Obi One-niisama is currently having a sleepover at his friend’s house, so it will be just the two of us that would get a scolding. Is there anything else you want to say?"

In the corner of his eye, Shinpachi saw that white-haired man slowly trying to escape. But before he could take one step away, Otae already held his shoulder, stopping him on his place.

"And oh yes, we haven't shown our gratitude to this strange man, haven’t we?"

xxx

The three of them ended up sitting on a park bench in front of the police station with bumps on their head (except Otae, of course). The sky was already dark by the time they finished the legal procedure. Shinpachi and his sister were still waiting for the next bus arrival in half an hour.

The sky was pretty clear today and the air was colder as the temperature slowly decreased by the minutes. 

Shinpachi glanced at his sister. Otae was busy with her phone, probably informing Chichi-ue that they will be home soon. With a sigh, he eyed the white-haired man, who continued to glance to and fro. His eyes occasionally fell on his wristwatch, glaring at it impatiently and cursing with a low voice.

"When will that mop come to pick me up?" He snarled.

Otae looked up from her phone and stared at that man with a sweet smile and clenched her fists.

"You could thank us for paying your fine so you can get out earlier. If it wasn't for my little brother insisting on getting you out sooner, I doubt you will be out until Kami-knows-when”

That man looked at Otae with a cold sweat. He breathed slowly before sighing.

"Look, I don't have any cash on me right now. I already used it to pay all of my parfaits back in that cafe”

He then reached into his bag and pulled out a card and a pen.

"But I will change it as soon as possible. Just write your telephone number there and I will send the money back after my test tomorrow"

Otae took it from his hand and quickly wrote their telephone number there. That man glanced at Shinpachi.

"Hey, brat. Mind if I ask you something?"

Shinpachi pushed up his glasses.

“No, not at all”

"Is your name Shinpachi? Shimura Shinpachi?"

Shinpachi was stunned. Not because a stranger knew his full name, but because he noticed a hint of desperation in his voice. It was a simple question, but he could sense a hopeful edge in it. And came to think of it, he might have heard that voice somewhere, but Kami knows when and where. He stared hard at that man, trying not to scan him from head to toe. His eyes seemed doubtful at a glance; as if he was expecting a ‘no’.

"Y, yes. How do you know that, Sir?"

That white-haired man swallowed hard, but he hastily asked him again.

"Do you remember... Me?"

Shinpachi couldn’t stop it, and literally took his time scanning him from head to toe. Indeed it felt like Shinpachi was familiar with this man, but he was sure he has never ever met him before. Shinpachi shook his head slowly.

"S, sorry. I don't think I've met you. B, but it could be because of my short memory" Shinpachi smiled awkwardly, tried to clear the atmosphere.

Something lurched in his heart when he saw a little bit of disappointment on his face. But in a blink of an eye, that sign has gone without a trace and that man’s expression turned back to how it was before, lazy and uncaring.

"O, okay. I think I got the wrong person. Maybe it's Shimura Hachi. Or maybe Shimura Shinichi? Or Nakamura Shinpachi? I don't know."

Shinpachi pressed his lip together, not sure what to do. Otae stared at them and handed both the paper and pen back to that man. He nodded and handed her his name card.

"Contact me if until the day after tomorrow you didn’t get a call from me. I can be contacted at any time but I'm not sure whether I could pick it up. At least if I forgot, a call from either of you will remind me of it”

With that, he stood.

"OK. That’s all"

The man fixated his eyes on Shinpachi and smiled. Shinpachi felt like he was hit by a truck when he saw his sincere smile. That man casually raised his hand and ruffled Shinpachi's hair.

"Thank you, Pattsuan" he grinned. He turned to Otae and smiled sincerely.

“You, too. Take care, both of you”

And he took his leave, walking to the opposite road.

"My name is not Pattsuan!!!"

That person just waved his hand lazily without turning his back. Shinpachi sighed and they took their leave too. As they walked, Otae examined the name card, flip it back and forth.

_Yorozuya Clinic_

_Sakata Gintoki_

Both Otae and Shinpachi stared at the name.

"Sakata Gintoki ... Sounds familiar"

Shinpachi lowered his head and stared at sakura petals that were fluttering in the wind.

"But, Ane-ue. Why does it feel like... I supposed to know that man, huh?"

Otae smiled sadly, staring at him.

“Me too”

Xxx

Gintoki dragged his leg lazily towards the nearest parking lot. His hands were busy searching for the name Koudoukan Dojo in his phone’s browser. His mind wandered here and there, but he still occasionally glanced left and right looking for someone.

"Yo, Kintoki!"

He turned to the car parked near the main street. There was someone with curly hair and dark sunglasses waved at him from the car window.

"It's Gintoki, Gintoki! Damn’it, Tatsuma! I've been waiting for you for hours” Gintoki yelled as he opened the passenger door.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just finished having a nice chat with Yanai-san. He is kind of hard to convince, you know?"

"Shut up! I don’t care with whom you’d talk to! I almost got arrested while you’re having fun at rich people’s playground!” Gin slammed the car door closed and settled in his seat.

"Ahahaha, It’s not a playground Kintoki! It’s a nice mansion you know?”

“Not helping your case at all!”

“Hahaha, how about you? Found something interesting at the police station? Your face is like when you were done with your supervisor during your thesis trial" Sakamoto smiled and glanced at him from the rearview mirror. Mutsu, his business partner (business partner my ass, she was clearly interested in Sakamoto), rolled her eyes and started driving.

"It's not your business" Gintoki grumbled.

"Hey, I mean it. You rarely put on a look like that" said Sakamoto, knowing that nothing could make Gintoki talk if he didn’t want to.

Gintoki paused for a moment His dead fish eyes stared at the cherry blossoms that were not swept away this afternoon. The petals scattered and sometimes carried high enough by the wind to reach the window. The edge of his lips slightly upturned and he closed his eyes.

"Just met a four-eyed brat from hundreds of years ago," he said quietly.

Sakamoto raised his eyebrows.

"Eh?"


	2. Kagura

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If she was asked by her friends again, she would say that she hates going home alone. Especially on a rainy day like this, and in a city she wasn’t familiar with.

Today’s weather forecast: rainy all day.

To do list: First, she should kick her stupid big brother’s ass as hard as possible. Second, that stupid big brother of her should pay for all of her lunch tomorrow, plus that tamagoyaki sold near her school. Whether he agreed with it or no. Third, she would make sure that she will be the first to use the bathroom when she arrived home later.

For now, all she could do was send a silent curse his way and tried to make it out of these confusing alleys as soon as possible.

If she was asked by her friends again, she would say that she hates going home alone. Especially on a rainy day like this, and in a city she wasn’t familiar with.

Rephrase that, she would really kick her stupid big brother when he came home later. (Waiting for the next train to come for over an hour just wasn’t an excuse in Tokyo. She might be new in this city, but she wasn’t a fool).

She kept running, looking for shortcuts through alleys. The sky had darkened more and more above her head, just shy from flushing the city awash. Great. She refocused her gaze forward. Her right hand held the handle of her purple umbrella tightly. The other hand trying to swat away strands of hairs from her eyes. Her natural vermillion hair had unravelled from the ornament on her head, bouncing lightly on her face. Brilliant blue eyes swiftly observing each alley, looking for an escape route. The winding road of this city was confusing, to say the least.

"HEY, BRAT!! STOP THERE!!!"

Footsteps could be heard approaching, along with the shouting. She was hot on her heels (she is a fine runner, thank you) but if she took any wrong turn or stumbled in her step it would be all for naught.

Ugggh! She should just leave those boys alone. But she can't stand it! How could those supposed-to-be high schoolers beat other kids just to extort hundreds of yen? They deserve a kick on their ass and a punch on their nose.

With her strength and ability, it didn't take more than a few minutes for her to finish them all. Those cocky boys were lying on the ground, beaten. Their victims were nowhere to be seen. She was ready to land another punch when she noticed something was wrong. As far as she could remember, there were only a few boys. Ten, at most. But when she paid more attention, she noticed that their number was more than she remembered. Number was never a problem for her, but she was just a fourteen. Her fast observation told her that a few standing outside her reach were skilled and too much for her to handle it alone. Without a second thought, she fled the scene before they had a chance to corner her.

Well, without proper knowledge about the district, she just ran aimlessly. Her instinct could take her away from dead ends. She was utterly grateful when she saw the main street in front of her, the one that she at least knew. She opened her umbrella when the drizzle began to drip on the pavement and ran across the street.

No, she didn’t take her time to look around when her feet stepped on the deserted road.

It didn’t even cross her mind that the street might be not that deserted.

It was too late when she heard the sound of someone screaming from her left. The sound was strangely familiar, at least to her ears. Like the flavour of sukonbu when she tasted it for the first time.

"WATCH OUT!!"

And the world darkened.

XXX

"Are you stupid, Sir? I won't die just because I got run over by a scooter!” She stated, offended because her helper dared to think like that. She is a Yato, how could something as stupid as a scooter kill her? It was just plain ridiculous.

"Watch your words, brat. Who in this world would not panic when he or she hit a girl with their scooter and knocked that girl unconscious, huh?! A young mid-schooler, no less! Poor Gin-chan almost went from a happy-stranger-buying-Jump-in-peace to a wanted person on the run!” That white-haired man who just called himself Gin-chan smacked her head with a stack of paper.

"Ouch, it hurts, you know! I've never seen a doctor hit a young lady like this, when she just woke up, no less! I should hit you back, yes!” Kagura grimaced while holding her head. She was surprised to find the ornament on her hair was gone. It seemed that it had fallen on that alley. She was too busy looking for a path to the main street, that she forgot about that. And she liked that ornament very much.... Another thing she would add to the list of things Kamui should buy for her.

"First, I’m not a doctor. Yet. And I have a name, you know? It’s Gin-chan. Second, you’re a brat, not a young lady. Third, you said you were only pretending to be asleep, so it didn’t count. See?” Well, she hated to accept it but he has a point there.

“Pretend to be asleep, my ass! You almost got me a heart attack! What with just lying in the middle of the road? And what did you do to piss off a bunch of high schooler like that? Send their balls flying to the rooftop?" He continued his ranting.

“Hey! It’s not my fault! They are the one picking on kids for money! I’m just happened to see them on my way home, y’know! It’s not like I’m the one picking a fight there!”.

“Then why they were running after you if you weren’t? Kids like that chase after younger kids only if they think they are stronger or when their pride wounded." He ignored her disdain huff while his hands skillfully bandaged her knees. Kagura just grumbled with unintelligible words, cursing her crappy luck today. He raised an eyebrow at that and stood. He took her bag from the nearest chair and handed it over to her. She took it without a word, but after a moment of silence, she talked again.

"If Papi finds out that you hit me like that, he'll hit you harder, y’know?".

He stared at her as if he was judging her statement before waving his hand.

"Nah, it’s not even that hard to left any bump. You can tell him and let him hunt me, for all I care. Your blood pressure is a bit low from normal. Skipped your breakfast, didn't you?” He stared at her, waiting for confirmation. Kagura avoided his eyes and instead stared at the window, not answering his question.

“Well, you seem OK otherwise, so you can go now." He glanced at the window behind him and sighed. "That’s what I want to say, but as you can see it's still raining outside. I can’t just let brat like you running around alone without anyone looking after you. It’s either you call your family to pick you up, or I have to take you to your home later –or maybe laterer. Which one?"

"... Call my family. But I didn’t bring my phone."

“Remember their phone number?” At that, she nodded.

“I’ll call them, then.” He picked up a ledger and took a seat in front of her. Kagura folded her hands and mused.

"Hmmm, Papi will be home late at night. Mui is still God-knows-where, even though I'm sure he's wandering around Shinju-whatever right now. Ah! I think Mommy will come home early. You can contact her."

He nodded lazily. His hands were busy writing on the overlapping columns there.

"What's your name and age?" He asked without raising his head, writing another line of unreadable words on another page.

"It's Kagura, or Kagura Yousagi. I’m 14. And for your information, I’m from the Yato family so you can bet your Jump collection there that I can kick your ass ten times harder than that smack of yours." 

She meant it to be a threat, but she was surprised when he stopped writing.

"What’s your name just now?" He said, raising his head.

She was the one tossing a threat, but she could actually felt a chill ran down her spine when she stared at his eyes. His red eyes (what kind of person has eyes as red as that?) stared back at Kagura sharply. An image of a veteran warrior aiming to take a life crossed her mind. As if she was a runny slut, who casually used his beloved mother's name as a pseudonym. And after running around playing with his life, now her name written on his list as a nemesis.

Okay, too many weird stories in three sentences there.

"It’s Kagura, alright!” Kagura answered in annoyance, trying to hide her fear. She was surprised for the second time when she saw his next reaction.

He was _stunned_. That sharp glint from his eyes was gone, replaced with disbelieve. He rubbed his eyes before stared at her again, as if he wasn’t sure what his own actual eyes saw. Just like one of that cheap drama she watched yesterday. A messed up story about a man seeing his long-lost younger sister knocking on his door, after decades, saying she didn’t come home because she forgot his address and ending up on another side of the world before she found him again.

Yup, another weird story.

Gin-chan scanned her from head to toe and then stopped right at her face again. He was silent for a few minutes, just staring at her (but his mind was not there. She could see it as clear as day).

"Umm, Gin-chan?? What's wrong with you?” Kagura asked as she waved her hand in front of his face to regain his attention (not his weird stare).

He jerked and slowly cleared his throat.

"O, oh. Sorry. I just thought that you were someone I knew." His expression, which she noticed had a glint of hope, turned slack and impudent. It was so fast, like it was never there at all. Or she might be seeing things.

"I thought you were a girl lost on the road years ago. But you're just a rude, harsh brat who doesn't even know how to properly cross the road.”

... If he wasn't the one who took care of her in this clinic, Kagura would have kicked his balls right away. Instead, she just gave him a scowl, promising pain here and there. As if unaware of the danger signals meant for him, he took his cellphone.

"What’s your mother's name and her phone number?"

"... It's Kouka Yousagi." And after deciding that she would kick him later, she told him her mother’s phone number. Done with his task, he closed the ledger and stood up. His face was a little paler than before and he opened his mouth to say something but he closed it again. As if he wanted to talk, but wasn’t sure what to say. And honestly, she had something she wanted to ask too. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t know what it was. Before she could think about it, he spoke again.

"Wait here for a minute. I’ll call your mother. If you’re thirsty, there is a dispenser near the reception desk." With that, he left Kagura alone in that empty room.

She huffed in annoyance and checked her bag. It was unscathed, and not a single thing seemed amiss. She glanced at the door and saw that even her umbrella was neatly tied, hanging dry. The rain still pouring outside, and she has nothing to entertain her at the moment. So, while waiting, she examined the entirety of the room. The wall was white, and everything arranged just like a normal clinic. Air conditioner blasting in this room even though it was already cold outside, and it made the room colder than it should be.

The room was cold and empty. Just like her new house, which was only a small apartment for four.

She sighed.

Honestly, she didn’t mind moving to a new city or district. Especially when it was her mother who asked it. She didn't mind any change of the environment around her and strolled along with it. But ever since she was a kid, she never liked having a conversation with any stranger. She always does her best to not making any conversation with a person she didn’t know beyond what’s necessary.

But that Gin-chan gave a familiar feeling. She just met him today, but she already knew what kind of person he is. He acted like he didn’t care, but he cared so much. Not that friendly, but warm and protective. Lazy but perceptive. Relaxed but always on guard. Like another stupid big brother that never left (but Kamui never left her alone to unless he was in a bad mood). Maybe more like someone she used to know but never met before.

It made her a bit wary, but still relaxed.

If Kamui ever knew about what she was thinking, he would use it to mess with her. Saying it was her delusional mind mixed everything that shouldn’t be mixed in her head, or anything like that. Her stomach was empty and she was just got run over by a scooter, after all.

Minutes had passed when Gin-chan returned.

"Eat them," he said as he offered a tray of food in front of her. Kagura stared at it and snorted.

"Gin-chan, what if I had eaten before? Besides, Mommy said to never accept food from people I don't know! Especially a strange man with white-permed hair like you, you know!" Right after she said that, her stomach grumbled. They both fell silent while Kagura held her stomach. Gin-chan just smirked.

"Even your stomach was against you. And my hair has nothing to do with this. Just eat it already. If I ever want to harm you, you will not be in this clinic right now," he said. And without a word, he picked up a new Jump magazine lying on his table and quickly sank into his small chair. Within minutes he was already on a different planet, drowning in shonen comics. Kagura slowly took the tray.

Indeed it was a simple lunch. Just a bowl of rice with a fried egg, sesame, and sliced nori. But from its aroma and shape, she knew how fresh and well cooked it was. Even she gulped in delight when she looked at it, stomach grumbled once again. Snorting to cover up the shame, she put the tray on her lap and took the chopsticks.

"I, ittadakimasu."

While she was busy devouring any food served on the tray, she was unaware of the pair of red eyes filled with fondness were watching her from behind a Jump magazine.

XXX

"Aaaah, I'm stuffed! Thanks for the food!" Kagura leaned on the pillows behind her and grinned.

"Well, for someone who didn’t trust a stranger to feed you, you sure eat a lot, don’t you? Five bowls in a row... It will be an anomaly if you’re not that stuffed," said Gin-chan while staring at the stack of bowls left on the tray. 

"Hehe, thanks, Gin-chan! Oh, yes. When will my Mommy come? It's been over an hour."

“Ah.” Gin-chan hastily checked his phone and raised his eyebrows.

"I forgot to tell you. Your mother said that your brother would be the one who picks you up."

"Eeeeeh?? Mui??? I will be home late at night at this rate!!” Kagura almost punched the bed in frustration. Gin-chan raised his hand and was about to ask something when someone knocked on the door.

"Gintoki-sama?"

The door opened, revealing a young woman with green hair standing in front of the door. She looked in and after her gaze fell on him, she stepped inside.

"What's the matter, Tama?" Gintoki turned his attention to her.

"Sorry, Gintoki-sama. There’s a young man named Kamui waiting for you. He said he is here to pick up his sister."

“Eh? He’s here?”

“Finally!!!” Kagura punched the air and beamed in relief. Gintoki smiled at her and, after Kagura took her umbrella, led her to the entrance.

Kamui and his senior, Abuto, were waiting there, both donned in their school uniform and each holding a wet umbrella. Sure, the rain was still pouring outside, but it’s not as hard as before. Kamui smiled with his annoying smile and waving at her.

“So you’re here, stupid little Sis. I was surprised when Mom called that you were here and told me to pick you up.”

“You!!! Where were you!!!??? You are supposed to pick me up at school and I’ve been waiting for hours!!!” Kagura was about to run at him and kick his shin when a big, warm, and calloused hand ruffled her head.

"Ok, time to go home. Don't forget to change your bandage and clean those wounds before going to bed and after taking a bath. Don't fight on your way home with your stupid big brother, okay?" Kagura turned her head to face him. And for a moment what she saw was not a stranger, but a family.

His big and calloused hand earlier, the way he spoke, the way he ruffled her head, how he called Kamui her stupid big brother, his red dead fish eyes which sometimes filled both with sadness and fondness...

“You’re just as stupid as me for taking care of that younger sister of mine, Sir” Kamui interrupted her train of thought with that annoying voice of his.

“Don’t be rude, Kamui!” Kagura scowled at him.

Gin-chan just smirked.

“Well, well. If I am stupid, you are a moron then”

Kamui smirked back, and in that instant, Kagura could see a dangerous glint of ‘strongworthyopponent-mustfight’ in her brother’s eyes. She really didn’t want to know how Kamui got that kind of sensing ability.

"Hurry up. You were already late as it is. Don’t make Mommy wait too long" she said hurriedly, trying to broke the tension. Kamui just shrugged and stared back at Gin-chan.

“What’s your name, old man?”

Gintoki rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Sakata Gintoki, and I’m not old, dammit. I haven’t even reached thirty”

“Still seem old to me” And he turned his back at him.

“Let’s go home, Kagura” Kagura sighed at his behaviour. Care and protective stupid big brother, but rude and annoying nonetheless.

"Thanks for your help, Gin-chan," she said, bowing. Gin-chan raised his hand and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Eh, you didn’t need to thank me, brat. I’m the one who hit you with my scooter" Kagura grinned at him.

"Well, I’ll just kick your ass instead when you help me next time, then. I’ll pay you back with a punch if I found a bump on my head at home”

“Heh, cheeky brat” She wore her shoes and walk out of the house. Before she ran to follow her brother, she shouted.

“Bye, bye, Gin-chan! See you later!!" and with a wave of her hand, she took her leave. Gin-chan just smiled and waved his hand back.

“Don’t go running and kick people’s ass with your feet like that!”

“It’s okay! It will heal faster than trying to straighten your permhead!”

“Leave my hair out of this, you brat!”

She grinned widely and before she took a turn at the intersection, she glanced back at his clinic. Somehow, seeing his figure stood alone in front of the door, waving at her, she felt a tad of loneliness lurching in her heart.

XXX

"Mou, Mui! Where have you been!? That Gin-chan had called Mommy since hours ago, and I’ve been waiting at school before that, you know!?"

"I told you I would pick you up at 3, not at 1. And whose fault is it that I must go to that clinic? The way I took from my school to that clinic is quite farther than to your school, you know? Moron" Kagura swung her feet to his shin. But before it landed on its destination, Abuto had stopped it with his own feet.

"Hey, hey. Didn't that weirdo white-permed hair say not to fight on the way home? After all, you will irritate the wound on your foot if you use it to kick people, Kagura-chan”

Kagura snorted.

"He was the one who started it!"

Kamui ignored his sister as they entered one of the nearest restaurants. Without saying much, each ordered their favourite menu and took their seat at an unoccupied table closest to the exit.

"Abuto, I’ll treat you your lunch this time. And you" Kamui flicked Kagura's forehead. Hard. Kagura, who was busy tying her hair to a bun, surprised and tried to retaliate.

“What was that for!!??”

"Don't tell Mom that we already ate before coming home, glutton" he said, avoiding the attack that was aimed at his forehead.

“Who’s the glutton one here, huh!!??”

“Hey, glutton doesn’t have the right to call another glutton, glutton,” Abuto said with a sigh.

After a few minutes of kicking each other's shins under the table, their menu was served and they could finally enjoy their food in peace. The rain started to fall harder outside. Kagura and Kamui were still throwing taunts, unaware of the loud sound of water hitting the ground like a rain of bullets. Abuto already gave up on trying to stop them and instead enjoying his own food while he can. It wasn’t even longer than two hours, and they already ran out of money to buy their fourth portion (Kagura and Kamui, of course. Abuto can only eat so much). They sat quietly, waiting for the rain to stop. Kagura stared at the row of restaurants across the street as people passing by looking for shelter.

"Mui, did you feel something weird about that Gin-chan earlier?" She asked, leaned on her seat.

"Hmmm? Beside that I really want to punch him, I don't think so. The only thing I’m sure of is that if he was around our age he would be an interesting opponent in a fight,”

Kagura deadpanned at that.

"What’s wrong? It’s not like you to ask about strangers" Kamui asked him, glanced at her with mild curiosity.

"Nah. I just felt like he was someone I knew, but never met,” she said, munching on her last Sukonbu.

“Maybe it was just your head went wrong like you in general”. Kagura didn’t even pause before tossing her spoon at him.

“Oi, oi. You two, cut it off. I don’t want to get kicked out and seek shelter just because you two have a sibling fight here” Abuto said as Kamui took the spoon before it reached his forehead.

Kamui spun the spoon before tossing it back at Kagura.

"Well, I don't know" Kagura was surprised when she saw Kamui smiled genuinely.

"But I really felt really annoyed to see that he was the one who helped and looked after you until I came"

XXX

_Ding, dong!!!_

Gintoki heard the bell of his front door ringing. He reluctantly moved from his couch, pondering whether he should open it or not. It was one of those days, and it rained hard to boot. He was really not in the mood to do anything besides reading his new Jump and drank his beloved strawberry milk in peace. Screw paperwork and his badly written thesis. With a sigh, he got up and put his Jump aside. Right after he wore his white jacket to protect him from the cold wind outside, he opened the front door. What he saw was a wig of long hair.

"Oh, it's you Zura"

"It's not Zura, it's Katsura!" Katsura, in his soaked clothes, stood in front of the door. His long hair which was tied neatly looked damp and dripping water on the floor.

"What’s wrong? You don't usually come here around these hours," Gintoki asked, stepped aside lo let him stepped inside.

"Can I stay overnight? The train stopped due to this heavy rain and the bus station was crowded with people. You could say I wouldn’t arrive at my apartment before midnight.”

Gintoki rolled his eyes and lazily led him to the washing room.

"You didn't bring your umbrella?" He asked, taking his damp bag from the floor. At least he tried to save its dry contents, taking out what’s important before tossing the bag back at Katsura.

"My friend from the office borrowed it when I asked him to take Elizabeth home earlier. I thought Takasugi would be waiting for me. You know how big an umbrella he has. But when I finished with the meeting, all I found was a bottle of yakulk on his desk. He sent a message that he had went home before the meeting started," Katsura answered with a sigh while he hung his bag near the clothesline.

Gintoki didn’t want to dwell with the thought of what kind of friend that would agree to take that half-pet-half-abomination home in this heavy rain. So he decided to ask about Takasugi.

"How is that Yakulk maniac doing?"

"Ah, he's fine. A little stressed with his new position. He's just like me, barely have any time to relax. Much less visiting a friend. Can I use your bathroom?”

"Hn. The clothes that you left last month are in the left cupboard in front of the washing machine” Katsura nodded and immediately took his way to the bathroom. While he was taking a bath, Gin prepared a hot tea and a carton of strawberry milk, along with a bunch of snacks.

A few minutes later, Katsura sat on the couch in the living room, dressed neatly but still with wet hair. Gintoki was lying on the other couch, reading his Jump. Warm tea and snacks were served on the table.

"I thought you were still in the clinic. It’s not usual for you to be at home at this hour" He said before taking a sip from his tea. Gintoki didn’t lift his eyes from his Jump and replied with a lazy voice.

"My schedule went to shit today.”

Katsura raised his eyebrows and drank his tea.

"Really? I think it’s more than that when I heard that Otose didn't even collect your rent today because you seemed to be in distraught"

Gintoki pretended to think hard about it before blurting out.

"Well, let’s say I just meet a bottomless-pit-for-a-stomach brat who got hit by a scooter on the middle of the street."

Katsura blinked

"Pardon me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been months since I've checked my account again, and I can't believe there were people that interested in this story. Colour me surprised! 
> 
> This chapter was written like 2 or more weeks after the first chapter, but man, I'm not even taking medical or law major but it's been one hell of a semester! And I'm yet to find a beta for this story. 
> 
> I changed a few things in the first chapter, and this one might get updates too in the future. The last chapter is half-written and I might post it around August or September (or maybe later(er). It's a bit hard for someone like me, who easily lose interest in many things, to write stories until I get inspired or regain that interest. And I'm still learning, so I'm sorry if my English is badly written. Kudos for my beloved twins for helping me with my stories. Without her help, I would never post any stories or arts at all.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for those who leave kudos and comment here! I really appreciate it! See you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Another idea that popped in my head after reading Gintama for the umpteenth time.
> 
> I'll remind you that I'm not a native English and my English is very, very bad. This story cannot be posted without the help of online grammar checkers and translators. Bless everyone that created such site.
> 
> All characters belong to Sorachi-Sensei. Please let me know if there's anything wrong or if you like it! Every comment and kudos is appreciated! :')


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